Glass
by Allaine
Summary: Doing the right thing by not killing a defenseless woman.  Getting the Glass Pumpkin.  Good reasons to spare the Witch Deneb's life.  What if they're not the real ones?  Based on the SNES game "Ogre Battle".
1. Chapter One

Title: Glass (1/??)   
Author: Allaine

Disclaimers: The Lady Rosanna, Deneb, Warren, and all other unit leaders belong to Quest, Enix, Imagineer, Nintendo, and all others involved in the production of the SNES game Ogre Battle. Feedback: Considering this is a new area for me, and I'm not sure if an audience exists, it would be greatly desired and usually responded to.   
Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Takes place at the end of the Deneb's Garden stage of Ogre Battle, usually Stage 6, "Glass Pumpkin"   
Distribution: If you want it, just ask.   
Summary: Doing the right thing by not killing a defenseless woman. Getting the Glass Pumpkin. Good reasons to spare the Witch Deneb's life. What if they're not the real ones?

* * *

Chapter 1

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone! Please forgive me!"

Warren observed to the side with satisfaction as the leader of their army, prophesized hero (or rather, heroine), stood before the forlorn witch, her sword in one hand.

If there was any doubt that the Lady Rosanna had come into her own as a leader and warrior, this occasion had banished such doubts. She'd led her team against the monstrosities created, through black magic foreign to even the aged wizard, by the witch Deneb. Rosanna had used her ability to generate enveloping clouds of freezing ice around her enemies, freezing the pumpkin-men into grotesque statues which her knights then hacked into pieces.

She hadn't even used the Tarot cards she'd been hoarding. There were some who'd whispered Rosanna couldn't win without her powerful magic deck. Those whispers could also be silenced now.

As for Deneb, she was a sad spectacle compared to the vision she'd been when the battle began. Even to Warren's eyes she'd been a great beauty, clad in a bright pink dress that left her shoulders bare and an oversized hat that was as much for affectation as for announcing her profession. Deneb knew she was beautiful too. She obviously thought herself more beautiful than the Lady Rosanna based on flippant remarks she'd made. Perhaps she was even right.

But you didn't win battles by being beautiful. You won by being strong, bright, and quick.

Now Deneb trembled as she knelt on the garden soil, surrounded by frozen shards of broken gourds. Her clothes hung in tatters, her hat about to fall off. She was seriously injured from the battle, but not so weak that she couldn't make one last plea for her life.

Rosanna was no longer untested, however. She'd fought her way through the Pogrom Forest and seen the horrors behind Sirius' lair. She had the will to take a life when needed, when it would thoroughly unite the people from the local towns behind the Liberation. They hated her for her misdeeds, and would rejoice at this act of vengeance.

"I'll be good!" Deneb pleaded, as if she were a child. For all her power, she'd struck Warren as not the most mature person he'd met. "I'll give you whatever you want!"

It was a good thing Rosanna wasn't a man. Otherwise Deneb's beauty and her vulnerability might prove hard to deny. Sparing a hated public figure because you wanted to get her into bed wasn't exactly the way to the commoners' hearts.

Rosanna looked down at her. "Forgiveness?" she asked. "I can't forgive you. Only the people you governed can do that. And I don't think they wish to."

Deneb's head dropped.

"Stand up," the Lady said after a moment's hesitation.

The witch struggled onto her feet. Most of what still clung to her body gave up the fight, leaving her nearly completely naked. Deneb squawked, cheeks burning brighter than before as she grabbed her hat and covered her chest with it.

A smile twitched at Rosanna's lips. "Are you all right, Lans?"

The knight had been behind Deneb, and had received an unobstructed view of Deneb's backside and derriere. He was studiously inspecting the ceiling now. He coughed. "Er, yes, milady, I'm f-fine."

Deneb had flaunted her body before. She didn't seem too proud now.

Rosanna's sword tip brushed the air by Deneb's throat. Then she sighed. "Someone find Yulia."

"She's coming with Canopus now, milady," Eliza spoke up from behind.

Turning, Rosanna's eyes followed where the valkyrie unit leader was pointing. She spotted the eaglemen (and woman) high above. "When she arrives," the Lady said, "you and she will take Deneb to her chambers. Find her something - decent to wear. Lans, go with them. You can wait outside the door in case the witch tries something."

Deneb was far from the only person who was surprised, but she was the only one who spoke up. "You're - not going to kill me?"

Rosanna slid her sword halfway into its scabbard. "Not unless you make trouble," she replied. She drew the sword out so that only a few inches remained sheathed. "Then I'll turn you over to the magistrate in Baljib, and they can decide what to do with you."

Deneb paled, but she ducked her head. "Thank you," she whispered.

"My Lady?" Yulia asked as she landed, shaking her eagle's wings.

"Take her," Rosanna said, gesturing indifferently to the witch. "Eliza and Lans will accompany you. They know what to do. And get one of the clerics to look at her."

"Of course," Canopus' sister replied. She looked distastefully at Deneb, who looked eager to get out of sight.

When they were gone, the Lady Rosanna turned around to receive Canopus. "Report?"

"The last of these pumpkin creatures are gone. There may be scattered ones in the mountains. We'll find them sooner or later. We also recovered a good sum of Goth from Deneb's study. These governors get richer every time," he said, smiling.

"What about these books we've heard about?" Rosanna asked. "The ones Deneb got from Rashidi?"

Canopus frowned. "We found some. We didn't touch them. They looked tainted. We don't know how many there are altogether, there could be more hidden somewhere."

"I'm sure Warren can handle it. Can't you?" Rosanna said, looking for the first time at the wizard who had contributed much of their original forces.

"It will be my pleasure," he said.

Rosanna chuckled. "Then I guess the army can stand down for now. We'll spend our latest windfall on them later. Get them healed up."

"As you command. What shall I tell them about the witch?"

"Tell them - that she has been dealt with. No use letting rumors spread to the townspeople."

The eagleman bowed his head and departed.

"You'll help me search the castle for Tarot cards?" Rosanna asked calmly when they were alone. "Deneb's too weak to invoke them, but she's a witch. You witches and wizards love stockpiling magic, don't you?"

"Do you think it was wise to spare her life, Lady Rosanna?" Warren answered with another question. Few used her name. "The people won't like it."

"When I conquer Zenobia, they won't care," Rosanna replied.

Warren nodded. "Yes, a few more victories should ease any bad blood, but why make trouble to begin with? Gain their undying trust now, I say!"

"Undying? There's an ironic choice of words. Would you have me murder a defenseless woman?"

"She wasn't defenseless when she fought you."

"She was no longer a threat when she pleaded for mercy," Rosanna said. "If she knew any offensive magic, she would have used it against me. All she has is that stunning spell, which didn't strike me as very effective."

"That may be, but she's no innocent, Lady Rosanna. She's committed crimes against the people here, taken men and twisted them into things you were forced to kill."

"Yes, and I won't be forced to kill yet another!" Rosanna retorted. "So my reputation takes a hit? Fine. Better my reputation than my soul, Warren. I was merciful just now, and I feel better for it."

"And what will you do with her?" he asked quietly. "Leave her in charge when you go?"

Rosanna snorted. "Having a sense of decency isn't the same as being stupid, Warren. You and I will discuss this again tomorrow. In fact," she added, "send a messenger to Patricia. Tell her I'd like her opposing viewpoint. I'm sure _she_ would approve of my decision."

"I'm sure she would," Warren agreed. He glowered, thinking of the seafaring cleric. "May I retire to her study then?"

"Yes, please," Rosanna told him. "I will see to camp and spoils, and then I will check on my 'guest'."

Warren sighed and left the garden, heading for the castle. Four heads rose up from the earth as he approached.

"Yes, boys," Warren murmured to his faithful twin hellhounds. "We're finished here."   
The great canines softly stood up and padded after him.

* * *

Rosanna paused when she and Alison arrived at what the cleric had told her was Deneb's chambers. Lans was not standing outside, as she had commanded. She drew her sword out slightly and gestured Alison back. It had been a long day seeing to a hundred minor matters, and she was not in the mood to discover that Deneb had abused her mercy.

The leader of the Liberation Army chastised herself for her words. Was mercy her only motivation in saving Deneb? Not if she was honest with herself.

She approached the door and yanked it open.

Deneb was sitting inside. Yulia and Elisa calmly watched her from more comfortable positions, as the witch sat mutely on a plain wooden stool, her hands tied behind her back. Her face bore signs of a cleric's healing, and her body was now hidden from view by coarse brown servant's garb that must have made her skin itch.

"Where is Lans?" Rosanna asked.

Yulia tossed Rosanna something that she caught in midair. Inspecting it, the Lady noted it was Deneb's wand. "I told him to see to his men. Without her hands or her rod, Deneb is powerless."

"I said to put on something decent, not a nun's habit," Rosanna reminded Yulia with a smile.

Yulia laughed. "It seems her entire wardrobe is composed of frilly things like that dress she was wearing earlier. None of it struck me as entirely decent. This was the best I cared to do on short notice."

Rosanna nodded. "Has she behaved?"

"She's smart enough to have, yes," Eliza said, pointing her footman's lance in Deneb's direction. The witch glared at her but said nothing.

"Very well. Leave us now. You have better things to do than baby-sit."

"Alone?" Yulia asked.

"I think I can defeat her again if needs be," Rosanna said, and Deneb winced at the recollection.

"As you wish, milady," Eliza said, jumping to her feet. She went out the door with Alison, while Yulia simply flew from Deneb's balcony.

"Sumptuous," Rosanna observed as she looked around at the furnishings in Deneb's rooms.

"I am not used to being treated this way," Deneb said angrily.

Rosanna held out a hand. "If you can't tame that tongue of yours, I may have to freeze your mouth shut."

Deneb looked at her anxiously. "You can do that?"

"I don't know," Rosanna said. "Let's experiment."

"No!" Deneb yelped, leaning backwards and almost falling over.

"I thought you liked experiments," the Lady said.

Deneb appeared to want to say something, but she seemed afraid at what Rosanna might do. "Why did you spare me then?" she asked.

Rosanna didn't answer at first as she sat down. "You said I wasn't bad looking earlier. How could I not repay such a magnanimous gesture?" she asked dryly.

The witch blinked. "Sure, make fun of the prisoner," she muttered.

"Would you take it back if you could?"

"What?"

"If you'd known you would be at my mercy, would you still be so quick to proclaim yourself the superior beauty?" Rosanna asked lightly.

"Why not?" Deneb said, shrugging. "My winning and losing doesn't change the truth. I _am_ the prettier one. Everybody knows it."

"And I'm a hag."

"Did I say that? You're pretty good-looking," Deneb told her. "You're just not me."

"Poor me," Rosanna murmured.

"Why did you really spare my life?"

"My lady."

Once again Deneb appeared to not know what Rosanna was talking about. "Who's she?"

"Me. You are my prisoner. I think I've earned the respect. Maybe if you remember to refer to me as 'my lady', you'll remember your place."

Deneb stiffened. "Very well - my lady. So why then?"

"Believe it or not, you're not the first enemy leader to make mistakes," Rosanna said. "Gilbert made mistakes, but he asked me for a second chance. You," she added, her voice growing cool, "have made bigger mistakes than he, however."

"Save your hypocrisy, my lady," Deneb said, sniffing.

"Excuse me?!"

"I have windows, you know. I can see your army below. Don't take me to task for MY mistakes when the walking dead fights for you. My lady."

Rosanna's cheeks reddened. "There are only a few poor souls who we found wandering alone. They will stay until my clerics are powerful enough to break the curse that keeps them here."

"But for now, you're willing to exploit them."

Rosanna sighed. "Yes. For now, I am. You and I both know that a lot of good people are fighting for the Empire. Am I to ask my noblest knights and samurai to kill good, decent people? I employ darker units to take care of them for me. That way, my people don't have to live with that kind of burden." She shrugged. "Only I do."

"And what? I'm your penance?"

"In a way, yes."

Deneb looked down. "I joined the Empire to stop the very experiments these people hate me for."

"How so?"

"My pumpkin men. Originally I created them by kidnapping human men as my test subjects. The research I've done in Rashidi's books, however - they've allowed me to make great strides in crafting magic that can transform the pumpkin itself into something greater." Deneb drew herself up. "In another few weeks, I think I'll be able to create all I wish without needing a single person."

Rosanna looked at Deneb and wondered whether to believe her. It did jibe with what some townspeople had told her - that Deneb had ceased taking men from the towns, and had begun raiding the harvests. And she found she wanted to believe it. The pumpkinmen were just dead fragments now, but their powers had been fearsome. She could foresee sending a unit of such creatures into battle. But not if it meant taking innocent lives to create it.

"I'll leave you," Rosanna said suddenly. "If your claims are true, I will expect your assistance in the fight ahead."

"Fight the Empire?!" Deneb squeaked.

Rosanna stared at her.

"Of course, my lady," Deneb said, wilting. Then she looked up again. "My hands?"

"Stand up," Rosanna said, tucking Deneb's wand behind her back. When Deneb complied, she drew her knife and cut the cords binding the witch's wrists. "Now sit down on the bed."

Deneb pouted at being ordered around, but she did so.

"Just so you know," Rosanna told her, "I agree."

"About what?"

She drew a deck of cards from her belt pouch and quickly shuffled through. Deneb saw this and stared greedily at the magic power contained in those cards.

"You are more beautiful than I," Rosanna admitted. "I chose not to destroy such beauty."

The Lady Rosanna then drew a Hierophant card from her deck. "Invoke," she whispered.

The magic blew across Deneb's face, and she fell back onto the bed, cast into a deep sleep.

Rosanna quickly left and headed downstairs. She encountered one of her valkyries there. "Who is your superior officer?" she asked.

"My Lady! That would be Jill."

"Fine. Locate her for me, and tell her I want two valkyries posted in the witch's quarters - one in her rooms, one outside them. When she wakes, I am to be notified."

"Of course, milady. Where shall I tell Jill she can find you?"

"In bed," Rosanna said, yawning. "I'm beat."

As she headed for the temporary quarters she'd located, Lady Rosanna thought of Deneb's bed. It had seemed quite soft. As the new mistress of Deneb's Garden, perhaps she should commandeer it for her own use during her stay.

Perhaps with Deneb in it.

Rosanna stopped and flushed, even though no one could have possibly heard the thought in her head. Even if the witch had said she'd do anything, the Lady would never abuse her power like _that_.

Guiltily she found her rooms and threw herself onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

To be continued . . .

(Author's Note – the hero of Ogre Battle is known as a Lord, but the game allows you to select a man or a woman. Rosanna is my own name for her.)


	2. Chapter Two

Title: Glass (2/??)  
Author: Allaine

Disclaimers: The Lady Rosanna, Deneb, Warren, and all other unit leaders belong to Quest, Enix, Imagineer, Nintendo, and all others involved in the production of the SNES game Ogre Battle. Feedback: Considering this is a new area for me, and I'm not sure if an audience exists, it would be greatly desired and usually responded to.  
Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Takes place at the end of the Deneb's Garden stage of Ogre Battle, usually Stage 6, "Glass Pumpkin"  
Distribution: If you want it, just ask.  
Summary: Doing the right thing by not killing a defenseless woman. Getting the Glass Pumpkin. Good reasons to spare the Witch Deneb's life. What if they're not the real ones?

* * *

Chapter 2

"So," Rosanna murmured as she lounged in a chair, "what's your opinion on the matter?"

"You know how I feel on the subject," Warren said gruffly. One hand clutched his staff tightly while the other absently stroked the shaggy pelt of the massive two-headed hellhound that slept at his side. "It's a bad decision, but one that can be easily remedied."

"Yes, but I thought you would have had the night to marshal your arguments," Rosanna replied, herself the essence of calm. "Tell me what the downside is."

"There is NO upside," he grumbled. "The Liberation has only just begun. Yes, we've made real gains at this point, but we're about to begin our first TRUE test. Kaus Debonair, one of the four Devas himself! General Debonair is sitting in the Zenobian capital with a real army. If we can defeat him, we'll garner instant credibility in the eyes of the towns all over the Empire!"

"I agree," the Lady said. "We all do. What does this have to do with - "

He glared at her. "You don't have the leisure to be merciful at this stage, Rosanna. After Zenobia, perhaps, but not now."

"You didn't seem to mind when Gilbert - "

"That was Canopus' decision," Warren pointed out. "We needed the birdmen, and we agreed that if Canopus was willing to give Gilbert a second chance, that was acceptable. At least _Gilbert_ was doing what he thought was best for the people of Sharom. The witch, on the other hand, was abducting innocents for use in her experiments!"

"They've said that Deneb halted the practice several months ago," Rosanna pointed out.

"And if the werewolf Sirius had halted the practice of kidnapping and consuming young women months before our arrival in his territory, that would have been acceptable as well," he said.

Rosanna glared right back at him. "Point," she finally admitted. "Could you give me some concrete political and military ramifications though?"

"Your reputation will suffer, there's no doubt about it," he said. "You're supposed to be their liberator, Rosanna. That won't matter to the people if they hate you. When word gets out - and it WILL get out - the people in this area will become distinctly unfriendly. And, if the worst case scenario happens and we fail to take Zenobia on our first try - well, I doubt we'll be able to fall back here. We might have to pull all the way back to the Pogrom Forest."

"That's not a very optimistic outlook, Warren."

"Just because you have the Herostar doesn't mean you're the One, Rosanna," he replied darkly. "I _have_ seen others, you'll remember."

Rosanna shifted uncomfortably. The burden of being a prophesied Hero was a heavy one. But not as heavy as living with knowing you could have been, but weren't. "Then all the more reason we have to take Zenobia."

"A walled city," he mentioned. "We've never launched a siege war before."

She sighed and massaged her temples. "Thank you, Warren, for being the cold, forbidding voice of reality once more. Patricia?"

Warren did not enjoy sharing a room with the seafaring shamaness. Her placid, accepting nature could be - annoying.

Patricia adjusted her green robes and smoothed her hair. "This war is not going to give you many opportunities to be merciful, my Lady," she said. "I say it's good for the soul to yield to your better intentions at this stage. When others see YOU, they will see a better person, and THAT is what people respond to."

"Oh, please," Warren muttered. "This from the woman who sleeps with fish."

The shaman frowned, which was a lot coming from her. "An octopus is NOT a fish," she said archly.

Rosanna smiled at last.

When Warren had joined the rebellion, he'd sent out a general "call-to-arms" to the people in his lands. Many of those first fighters and Amazons had, with experience and teaching, had become the knights and clerics and valkyries that led units today. Because of the magical nature of his powers, however, he'd also summoned beasts of lore, some even larger and more fearsome than his two "pets", the two-headed canines that were rarely away from his side.

The largest of all had been two giant monsters that rose from the deep ocean, octopi with tentacles like oaks. Warren had apologized for the trouble, calling them unruly beasts of little use. Rosanna, however, had decided to keep them, noting the damage such creatures could do to Empire shipping if kept controlled.

The problem was - who could control them?

The lone volunteer had been the cleric Patricia, who was raised on the coast and claimed to have experience taming smaller sea creatures. Rosanna had given her the job, even though clerics were hard to come by in those early days. If the octopi had torn her apart, the army's medical units would have depleted.

Since then, Rosanna had seen those tentacles with their enormous suckers lift Patricia as if she was a child of their own and set her on land. And she'd seen the shamaness astride an octopus' back as it smashed wooden ships to splinters. The octopi had played complete havoc with the Empire's abilities to send reinforcements during campaigns, and Patricia had suggested, in her mysterious manner, that the creatures seemed to learn faster with every engagement.

What exactly an octopus learned, Rosanna didn't know. But after seeing the sea creatures pull themselves across land and dive into a nearby river, she was willing to let them learn.

At any rate, Patricia had become her wisest cleric, the first to earn her shaman's robes. Unfortunately, she was also gone for weeks at a time, so Rosanna consulted her on matters of peace whenever she was available.

"Any leader can hide behind a mask of piety," Patricia went on, unruffled. "But if you expect to meet people like Canopus and Lans in the future, and convince them to join you, you will need to maintain their respect when they look past your reputation and get to know the person you are."

"We all know Rosanna," Warren responded. "We know the kind of person she is. You're not actually suggesting that handing Deneb over to the local authorities will turn her into some kind of monster, are you?"

"Killing a person changes a man - or a woman," Patricia said.

"She's killed before!"

"I _am_ in the room," Rosanna murmured.

"She's never walked up to an unarmed woman, begging for mercy, and killed her," Patricia retorted. "You honestly think a person can do THAT and not lose a piece of their innocence? And don't give me that 'local authorities' line," she added with a trace of asperity. "She can't show mercy and then take it back by turning her over for execution. The blood will STILL be on her hands."

"We all need to make sacrifices for the good of the cause," Warren said coldly. "Or haven't you noticed the skeletons in the woods south of the castle?"

Rosanna winced, but Patricia only sighed. "They're not mindless spirits, Warren. They know the position they're in. They're helping us because they believe we can release them."

"We could now . . ."

"And send them to Hell? I don't think so," Rosanna said before Patricia could speak, earning her a gratified smile from the shamaness. "Look, I appreciate your advice. _Both_ of you," she said, looking at Warren. "I have to balance my beliefs against my responsibilities to both the army and the people. I will take this under advisement, okay?"

Warren nodded. "Fine," he said gruffly. "It's as much as I hoped for. But you don't have much time. You have to deal with Deneb before we leave. Speaking of which - "

"A few days," Rosanna said. "We give the men time to recuperate, and we revisit the towns and temples like we always do. All right?"

"I can't stay long," Patricia replied. "We'll be heading for the Kastolatian Sea shortly. My octopi are hearing rumors, and we're going to do some investigating."

"You make it sound like you talk to your not-fish," Warren said to her.

Patricia only made that little placid smile of hers and let herself out.

Warren scowled. Clerics.

* * *

"My Lady," the valkyrie said deferentially as she stood upright.

"Jill," Rosanna replied. Unlike most of the others, Jill had come to her with battle experience, so she'd put the bow aside long ago and taken up the spear. She enjoyed chopping her way through a crowd of fighters. Sometimes Rosanna worried that she enjoyed it a little TOO much. "I'm told she's awake?"

Her captain nodded. "She's getting dressed. She expressed a wish to wear something other than what she had on. She doesn't appear to be in any condition to try something, so I granted her a moment's privacy."

Rosanna nodded. A cleric's healing did wonders for curing injuries, but if you weren't a hardened soldier, you would still be left spent for hours afterwards. Deneb would walk with difficulty for a day or two.

"Shall I accompany you inside?"

"That's all right, Jill. I'll see to her."

Rosanna casually opened the door and entered without bothering to knock.

Deneb squealed and pressed the dress she'd been holding against her chest. "Don't you rebels know how to KNOCK?" she yelled.

"Sorry," Rosanna said, glancing away.

What Warren hadn't bothered to mention, but which other captains of hers had, was that there was one silver lining to Rosanna's decision to spare Deneb - Rosanna wasn't a man. A man would have been accused of saving her because of her beauty, perhaps even because he wished to bed her. It would not do for people to begin spreading tales that the army leader was more libertine than liberator. It might lead people to wonder how else the rebel commander intended to "indulge" himself.

As a woman, however, Rosanna remained above such suggestions. And well she should - she had no intention of bedding the witch. Sparing her life had been a matter of honor, and principle.

But she certainly intended to _look_.

She did not look now, however. If Deneb got even a hint that Rosanna was sexually attracted to women, she would undoubtedly attempt to regain the upper hand by seducing her. And, as Deneb was a woman of considerable beauty, Rosanna felt the best way to resist temptation was to make sure the witch never tried to tempt her in the first place.

"You can turn around," Deneb finally said, irritated.

Rosanna looked again and found Deneb dressed in something closer to what she knew as traditional witch's garb. She wore a black dress that fell to her ankles and revealed very little in the way of cleavage, but it didn't reach her shoulders and it clung to her frame in a manner pleasing to the eye. Long black gloves extended to her elbows. A wide-brimmed floppy hat with a pointed crest rested on her head, exactly like the one destroyed the day before except for the black coloring, the brim almost completely shadowed her eyes. "I thought they said your wardrobe was composed of 'frilly things'," she said.

"They didn't look long enough," Deneb replied, shrugging. "I thought this would be 'demure' enough to avoid provoking some harpy into stripping me down again."

"Those _harpies_ are my soldiers, and I'll remind you to speak of them with respect," Rosanna snapped.

"Sorry," Deneb said sulkily.

"You should know that some of my captains have proposed it's in my best interest if I hand you over to your people."

Deneb flinched. "But you said - "

"I spared your life, yes. But you shouldn't have taken that as a blanket pardon of your crimes, Deneb. Why shouldn't I?"

"But - they'll probably burn me at the stake!"

"Well, they do view you as a murderess, and with reason," Rosanna pointed out, although she didn't condone such a cruel form of execution and would, if she did decide to turn Deneb over, insist on a more humane punishment.

The witch looked away. "I'm a witch, remember? I didn't learn magic to heal people or fight, like all the other wizards and clerics and such. Witches are about learning. That's why our spells are defensive in nature."

"So you turned men into these pumpkin-headed slaves in the pursuit of learning," Rosanna said dryly.

"Gee, when you say it like that," Deneb pouted. "Look, my garden was my most important possession, as well as where I conducted most of my experiments. But those stupid people! They'd take things, they'd smash things - I was just the witch who lived all alone! So yes, I found out a way so my plants could PROTECT themselves. And then Rashidi! He gave me control of this entire valley, the men to hold it with, and the books you were SO interested in having your wizard read. HE'S the reason I was able to do my work in peace, so don't you make me feel SORRY for what I did, okay?" She folded her arms and turned away.

Rosanna frowned. "I don't accept what you did, and frankly you need to learn some remorse, if you're so good at 'learning'. But you were right about one thing."

"Oh?"

"Those books. Frankly, I'm outraged by your attempt to justify your actions, and those books carry a taint of evil about them. But . . . my captains have tried to frame the question of your life as one of good versus evil. I should save you because it's the right thing to do. No, I should leave you to die because of your crimes, and because it would help my mission."

Deneb trembled as Rosanna casually discussed her fate.

"But I thought I could allow you to live," Rosanna added, "and not just because it IS the merciful thing to do. You told me you could help me. You said you were about to finish your research on making these 'pumpkin-men' without sacrificing humans first. So tell me, Deneb - can you? Can you make my army stronger by providing me with more of these creatures?"

The witch looked curious. "You want me - to make more of my special pumpkins for you? But - but when the Empire sees them, they'll know it was me who made them! They'll think I'm one of you!"

"Horrible, isn't it?" Rosanna agreed. "The people will think the same thing. They'll think I'm just like you."

"Why do you have to be so mean?!"

"Look, Deneb, it's really quite simple. If you can do it, I'll let you live. I'll even bring you with my army so you're not lynched the second I leave. Maybe the Empire kills us all some day. Although frankly, even if you don't help me, AND even if you manage to survive, I'm thinking the Empire won't be too impressed with your performance anyway." Rosanna sighed. "Do you want to live? Do you want to finish your work?"

"Well, yes, but - "

"Then what's your answer?"

Deneb sat down, her look dismayed. "All right," she finally said. "It will take a week, but . . . I can give them to you. P-promise me we're not going to die in the end?"

"We're all going to die someday, Deneb. Didn't your research tell you that?" Rosanna shrugged and sat next to her. "If you come through for me, I'll protect you like I would any other member of my army."

"You send them into battle every day."

"Yes, well, I like to think I'm sending them into a situation where they're less likely to die."

Deneb chuckled weakly. Then she looked up. "Yesterday you said you saved me because I was beautiful. Did you mean that?"

Rosanna's cheeks colored slightly. "I did. I thought someone who looks like you couldn't be all bad. I hope I was right."

"I - I should start work as soon as possible. I doubt you want to hang around here for any longer than you have to," Deneb said.

"Fine. Expect to see a lot of me. I'll want to be apprised of your progress, so I know you're not feeding me lies about your research."

Deneb nodded. Then she laughed. "Are you kidding? You're the only thing willing to keep me alive? I've GOT to make this work."

Rosanna didn't respond. She was keeping a lot of people alive. She knew all about making things work.

To be continued . . .

(Author's Note - for those of you unfamiliar with the game, Octopi and Hellhounds are actual monsters in the game. Amazons can become Clerics and Valkyries when they reach a certain level. Hence all Clerics are women. Clerics can become Shamans.)


End file.
